Rethinking Behavioral Addictions in a Digitally Transformed World

Rethinking Behavioral Addictions in a Digitally Transformed World: Clinical, Preventive, and Wellbeing Perspectives

Chairs:
Luigi Jianniri, L’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore , Roma, Italy
Fatima Elomari, National Centre for Addictology, Arrazi Psychiatric Hospital, Rabat-Salé, Morocco

Discutant: Massimo Clerici: Università degli studi di Milano Bicocca

Giovanni Martinotti, University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy: Brain Stimulation in Gambling Disorders

Fatima El Omari,
Behavioral Addiction Treatment; opportunities and challenges from a Morocco perspective

Jesús Castro-Calvo, University of Valencia (Spain), University Jaume I (Spain): Toward an Evidence-Based Preventive Framework for Problematic Pornography Use

Yasser Khazaal, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, University of Montreal, Canada
Advancing Digital Wellbeing: Concepts, Measurement Tools, and Intervention Frameworks

Abstract
Behavioral addictions represent a rapidly evolving field within social psychiatry, closely intertwined with unprecedented transformations in digital technologies that are profoundly reshaping daily life, social interaction, and patterns of consumption worldwide—bringing both new opportunities and new vulnerabilities. In this context, this symposium brings together complementary perspectives to examine contemporary challenges and emerging responses to behavioral addictions across prevention, assessment, and intervention.
The symposium first explores neurobiological and neuromodulation approaches in gambling disorder, highlighting the promise and current limitations of brain stimulation techniques in addressing treatment-resistant symptoms.
It then addresses the realities of behavioral addiction treatment in low- and middle-income settings, with particular attention to systemic opportunities, cultural considerations, and implementation challenges within Morocco.
A preventive lens is subsequently adopted through the presentation of evidence-based frameworks targeting problematic pornography use, emphasizing early intervention, risk and protective factors, and the translation of empirical findings into scalable prevention strategies.
Finally, the symposium broadens the perspective by introducing the concept of digital wellbeing as an integrative framework that moves beyond pathology, encompassing balanced technology use, validated measurement tools, and intervention models aimed at promoting functioning, autonomy, and psychosocial health.
By bridging neuroscience, clinical practice, prevention science, and digital mental health, this symposium offers an interdisciplinary and internationally grounded overview of current advances in behavioral addictions. It aims to stimulate dialogue on innovative, culturally sensitive, and socially informed approaches aligned with the core mission of social psychiatry.

yasser khazaal